Reports and Photos
2020
During January’s meeting our ladies enjoyed an enjoyable evening with a talk from David Price on “Sophisticated Ladies of the Night”. The ladies in question being Parisian courtesans in the mid-19th century.
Many would think that these courtesans were nothing more than glorified prostitutes, however these women were actually usually very well educated and often skilled musically or in the performing arts.
David explained that the courtesans often started out on this path initially by being forced into prostitution by their family. The girls would often run away to the streets of Paris where if they were “lucky” they would find themselves a benefactor who would provide accommodation, often in the form of an apartment, along with an allowance. Given time these girls would “move on” to richer gentlemen and so their lifestyles would also improve.
The role of the courtesan diminished by the end of the century as the middle classes were beginning to become more equal and women started to work and disappeared completed at the onset of WW1.
We all thoroughly enjoyed David’s presentation and enjoyed an excellent evening.
2019
Our ladies had a wonderful start to the festive season this year, with a talk from Sandy Leong on the origin and meaning of traditional nursery rhymes.
Whilst many would think that nursery rhymes were created to entertain and educate children, often the reality was that they were created as a means to criticising those in power during a time when it was unwise to do so openly, catchy nursery rhymes were easy to remember and therefore easy to share and so the gossip would spread!
Our ladies thoroughly enjoyed themselves, reciting the rhymes before learning what they were actually about, examples included:-
· “Pop goes the weasel” which referred to the poverty in London during Victorian times, “pop” being to pawn something and the “weasel” being a coat.
· “Baa, baa, black sheep” refers to the wool tax of the time – 3 bags full referring to the portions being distributed to the King, the Church and the farmer/landowner
· “Humpty Dumpty” refers to a cannon on the wall of a church in Colchester which was called “Humpty”, the cannon was destroyed by Parliamentarians during the English Civil War.
Sandy gave a very entertaining and informative talk and provided a lovely trip down memory lane.
The topic for Swannington WI meeting in November was “Victorian Style Christmas” by Jo Gaulby.
Jo, in full ladies maid costume, gave a highly entertaining talk from the point of view of a ladies maid, giving an insight into Christmas celebrations both upstairs and downstairs. Jo provided the history and symbolism of many of the traditions we still enjoy today.
Many of these traditions, originally only for the wealthiest in society, began to increase in popularity as prosperity increased, for example the sending of Christmas cards increased in popularity after the introduction of the halfpenny post.
Gifts generally were small and personal, for example embroidered handkerchiefs. Gifts for children who were fortunate enough to receive then tended to be educational, for examples dolls and dolls houses for girls were given to teach them how to look themselves and their homes, whereas boys would often be given toy soldiers to teach them the different uniforms and to enable them to re-enact great battles. These gifts would have been wrapped using brown paper and decorated using items from the haberdashery box – all of which would be saved and reused again – a tradition which we should re-establish for this modern age!
Jo also described the many dishes that would have been enjoyed during the festive period and the symbolism of these dishes – such as the mince pie, which should always be served warm as this represents the child in the manger and serving the pie cold represents letting the child go cold in the crib.
Jo gave a very entertaining and informative talk on the Victorian Style Christmas, it was evident that the Ladies Maid would have worked extremely hard during this period – I’m sure some of our ladies would say that some things never change!
During September’s meeting Helen Baxter gave an interesting talk on the “Shuttlewood Clarke Foundation” a local charity which has been providing care, support and friendship for the people of Leicestershire since 1990.
Helen provided our ladies with a brief biography of its founder David Clarke and explained how through his passion for sports cars, in particular a model 330 P4 Ferrari which he sold for £6m, David was able to establish this wonderful local charity.
Helen then went on to describe some of the supportive work the charity is able to carry out at within its facilities at Ulverscroft Manor and Ulverscroft Grange, in addition to the general facilities which are open for the public to enjoy.
Another inspirational talk regarding a charity supporting the people of Leicestershire
During August’s meeting Alison Briggs gave an inspiring talk in “Mercy Ships” an International Surgical Care Mission.
Mercy Ships is a faith-based international development organisation that deploys hospital ships to some of the poorest countries in the world which are predominantly in Africa, delivering vital, free healthcare to people in desperate need.
Alison provided examples of some of the incredible work carried out by the volunteers, all of whom are self-supporting, which included social as well as medical support to those in need.
Alison closed her presentation by saying “we can’t change the whole world, but we can changed the whole world for individual people”. Very appropriate.
A truly inspirational talk.
Notes from November 2018 meeting
Our ladies enjoyed an informative evening as Polly Morgan gave a wonderful demonstration on the creation of Christmas door garlands, wreaths and other festive arrangements.
Polly explained how her love of native flowers along with her desire to minimise the environmental impact lead her either grow her own, or source local ethically grown flowers and foliage wherever possible and use these within her arrangements.
Polly created a traditional base ring using moss - although straw could also have been used, rather than synthetic florists foam. Polly then showed us how to easily create greenery bundles by layering foliage and then attaching these to the ring and then how to attach flowers, berries and other decorative items to make a truly personalised garland.
Our ladies now have many ideas for the forthcoming festive season using produce from their own gardens.
Swannington ladies at their September meeting were entertained with “Tales from the Workhouse”.
They were introduced to four characters in full costume from the period including the Matron, Mrs Wakeman, who ran the Workhouse alongside her husband, The Master. Matron explained that the Workhouse was built in 1824 for the assistance of paupers, deserving children, the old and infirm.
Other characters they met were Samuel who sang a number of folk songs relating to the characters within the Workhouse – war veterans, simple minded folk, harlots and unmarried mothers, Hannah, who told her story of leading a productive life but who had fallen on hard times after losing her job and William, an elderly man who had been led by unscrupulous characters throughout his life!
Our ladies learnt that the jobs carried out within the Workhouse were designed to be harder than those within the outside world but never harsh. The old and infirm were not expected to work and were given regular treats such as butter on their bread occasionally. Children were provided within education suitable for the opportunities which would be available to them.
The characters were all very entertaining and all enjoyed an excellent evening.
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